What sticks with me about Pet Sounds, aside from its unique sound, is that Brian Wilson put sand in his house around the piano to make a more physical and emotional atmosphere in which to help his creation. Here is the only photo I have seen of that. [0]
It is funny when you hear the stories behind some of the biggest albums and there is more often than not something like that. It looks odd but the results tend to yield some amazing results.
I am not the biggest fan of Wilsons stuff but you could never accuse him of just phoning it in.
[0] https://www.reddit.com/r/thebeachboys/comments/137tx33/the_o...